At the invitation of the President of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI), Dr. Jaime Zabludovsky, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya spoke at a breakfast meeting in Mexico City on 18 September 2014.

After his presentation, Dr. Mikuriya responded to questions from Council members on a range of issues of interest to Mexico, including regional integration, illicit trade and relationships with the private sector. He emphasized the importance of applying global standards at borders to further advance regional integration, while explaining the WCO’s work on the origin of goods and the challenges of implementing a different set of rules in this regard.

Secretary General Mikuriya informed Council members of Customs endeavours to protect citizens from illicit trade through intelligence-based risk management, use of technology and coordination with other government agencies and cooperation with the private sector. He expressed his expectation that the Mexican Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) Programme would widen its network of mutual recognition with its trading partners as part of efforts to secure and facilitate the global supply chain.

While staying in Mexico City, Dr. Mikuriya met with Mr. Juan Manuel Valle, Managing Director of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation, to discuss possibilities for cooperation between Mexico, the Pacific Alliance and the WCO as regards Customs capacity building for Central America and the Caribbean.

Secretary General Mikuriya also met with the Head of the Mexican Tax Administration Service (SAT), Mr. Aristoteles Nuñez, to discuss issues of common interest including Mexico's role as Vice-Chair for the Americas and the Caribbean Region.